So today was a good sea day if a bit busier than I would normally hope to be on a sea day. Things I learned today –
- If we order room service for delivery at 6am they will actually show up close to 6am.
- All of the treadmills are in use by 7am; only one of us was able to run this morning and she spent 2 1/2 hours on the treadmill. Not certain if anybody stuck around long enough to notice.
- The fitness instructor doesn’t care if people doing yoga want to stay balanced on both sides.
- HAL likes to focus on meal pacing. Tonight they asked us if they were pacing our meals properly or if we would like to go faster or slower.
- Even with a beverage package they want you to sign – sporadically, part of the time.
- The cable boxes (IPTV converters) freeze when the WiFi freezes, or when Elon Musk coughs, but they can be rebooted from the hallway.
All in all, we’re beginning to understand why Holland America cruisers are so loyal. Whenever you ask someone to do something, if it’s within their authority and they have time and energy, they do it. People have been so helpful. Tonight, we had a couple of additional chairs delivered to our cabin so now we can host parties. We bought a beverage beyond the limit of our package and they told us not to worry about it. They handled our query about fixed dining perfectly – and followed up, both from the concierge and the maître d’. In short, it sounds like they were trying to tell us to “just use Club Orange and dine whenever we want.” We decided “we’d rather depend on having the same waiter every night and having the same spot near the window.” And they’re smart enough to tell us the Club Orange menu now (they were before, we just had not asked).
We had a couples massage this morning. Swedish massage. We both fell asleep in the middle. The upsell was moderate to heavy, probably because they know we are suckers sometimes. We also enjoyed the large hot hydrotherapy pool mostly to ourselves – picture loungers in the water with jets and bubbles; this is where we will be when we get chilled from watching for penguins flying in boats.
We also went to the Cruise Critic meet and greet, where people clapped when I said “this is the longest we’ve taken off work in three decades…”. I met one of the cruisers who was staying at the Sheraton Thursday night who was having fits with the excursion crew in Santiago Thursday night. He was actually at the winery at the same time we were at an earlier time (I wish he were in our crew because he’s an interesting guy).
We’re all settled in for another twenty days here.
So, because I couldn’t get on the treadmill this morning I walked several laps on the promenade instead this morning even though it was windy and cold. I met a man who lives on the same road as my parents – he grew up “back home.” Turns out he lived for 17 years about six blocks from where we live in Arlington. What a small world.
Because I couldn’t do the treadmill I decided I either need to get up tomorrow morning for treadmill time or I needed to do it this afternoon. I went this afternoon instead (it’s rare for me to get motivated for this on vacation). I watched The Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix while running a few miles. In this show whales act as a metaphor for Attorney Woo helping her analyze life as an autistic attorney. Whenever she has a brainstorm, or a deep thought which breaks the wall of autistic thought patterns, she sees whales or dolphins, usually splashing out of the ocean. Today, I had a pleasure of watching the whales with the ocean as a backdrop.
Reporting in on logistical matters –
People dress nice-ish on dressy nights on HAL scenic cruises. Nobody is messy but there are not too many dresses and we didn’t see too many tuxedos. The split between suits and just a dress shirt seemed to be about 60/40 towards a suit. Not too many people wore ties either (myself included; I’ll send photos sometime as I look perfectly presentable and professional without a tie).
Dressy night got us a few extra menu options. Tonight’s steak options were a tenderloin and a NY Strip Steak. Orange menu got us a braised short rib. I had “rack of lamb” which consisted of two thick lamb chops. They were good and didn’t taste like they were sent from New Zealand so they may have actually been brought on the ship in Santiago. At lunch today I had crab Louie salad.
We played blackjack for a bit this afternoon, losing more than winning but having a good time. We likely won’t play again for a few days as the next two are port days.
Tonight, after calling the cable guy, we’re watching football. We sent out laundry today and I called my kid to have a difficult conversation. It’s almost as if we’re at home. Well, we do our own laundry at home.
Weather – cold and damp this morning, upper 50s (14C). Warm and sunny this afternoon, around 70 (21C) but with nice warm sun. I sat shirtless in the sun a bit and became a little pink. Tomorrow…. I frankly have no idea but it looks like upper 50s and “chance of a shower.” People report that weather can be highly variable in Puerto Montt and Puerto Chacabuco. we’ll see.
17,947 steps today. Not enough sleep last night so we shall be sleeping soon.
In Retrospect 